The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-02-12
HELD-UP ON A TRAIN.
The Story AS fold by Zone Of the
COWards."

the time was IL O'Clock p. m. The one
sleeper on the train had every berth
taken, and the two passenger coaches
were pretty well filed with men women
and children. There were twelve men
in the sleeper. OF these eight had their
wives along. had revolver and !
presume most of the other men had.
| We were all asleep, and the train had
stopped at water-tank in lonely spot,
when three desperadoes boarded the
train. One got on between the two
passenger coaches, threw open both
doors, and standing on the platform in
such way that he could guard both
coaches, he shouted:
Now, then, the first one who makes
move will get dose of buckshot"
He had a dou ble-barrelled shotgun
and had he fired into either car three or
four or five people must have been hit.
The second robber got on between the
last coach and the sleeper and the third
on the rear platform of the sleeper
| itself. Both doors of this last car were
thrown open together and the two men
entered from opposite ends. We were
| awakened from sweet slumbers by one of
them calling:
NOW gents, turn out your Yaluables
We don't want to hurt nobody, but if a
trigger is pulled we'll open fire on the
whole carp
Well, now, what would that belliger-
ent editor have done under the same
circumstances? They were desperate
men, bent on desperate work, and held
human life as worth no more than q
pound of dog-meat. His revolver would
have been in his pantaloons at the foot
of the berth, as mine was. His wife
would had begged him for Gods sake to
give up every thing, as mine did and all
the other wives did He would have
realized, as we all did that no revolver
could be poked out from behind the
curtains without being seen in second,
and that single shot from any one of
us would hove exposed each side of the
car to fusilade of buckshot. 1t would
have been the same had we been up and
dressed and in our seats. There would
have been man to face US and another
behind our backs. Just take a seat on
a chair and see how quick you can pull
a pistol from your hip-pocket. Note the
movements you have to make, and
then assert if you dare, that you could
get the drop on two men whose hawk
eyes who were watching the move Of
every finger.
The conductor and baggageman and
brakeman were in the baggage car.
They all had reYolvers. but they saw at
once that a shot from them would be
the death of three or four passengers.
A bullet may miss by hairs breadth;
buck shot can't help but hit.
The two men came down the car
oh r-tf hIcf in of
knife and revolver in his belt, and
stopped at each berth. 1 dad $185 and a
gold watch and a diamond pin Ny
wife hid $135 of the money and the watch
and pin before the fellows got to US. /
handed out the other fifty and as it was
crumpled up it looked like big roll.
"AIl right-that's business !"chuckled
the man as he receiVedit. Now for
your tickers."
Never had one"
"Oh, you didn't! I'll look for that as
l come back"
In this way the two fellows passed
each other, taking whatever was handed
out, and as they reached the ends of the
car one of them fired shot which went
through the roof, and next moment
they were off. No one in the passenger
coaches had been robbed. and DO one on
the train had been injured. Why2 Be
cause all had exhibited common sense.
That so-called bravery which the editor
referred to signs for, might have
tempted some one to fire his pistol. The
result would have been the killing of half
of US. Those men borded the train with
the determination to kill whoever re-
sisted them, and they probably would
have done it.
And let me say that among the Cow
ards" in that sleeper were five ex-army
officers, 'Mississippian who had fought
three duels and two or three other men
who would have shot down the man
who impugned their bravery.-Detroit
Free Press.